January
11
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Conclave (12A)
Conclave (12A)
Runtime: 120 minutes
Director: Edward Berger
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Carlos Diehz, Lucian Msamati, Brían F. O’Byrne, Merab Ninidze, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini
Synopsis: CONCLAVE follows one of the world’s most secretive and ancient events – select the new Pope. Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with running this covert process after the unexpected death of the beloved Pope. Once the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world and are locked together in the Vatican halls, Lawrence uncovers a trail of deep secrets left in the dead Pope’s wake, secrets which could shake the foundations of the Church.
URL: https://youtu.be/JX9jasdi3ic?si=e4-0E7eufWmToCbc
Edward Berger’s Conclave one of the most beautiful looking films of the year in its use of colour, cinematography, textures, and fantastic ensemble acting supporting central performance from Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci.
Conclave is a fun, exciting Vatican thriller, written by Golden Globe winning screenplay writer, Peter Straughan, based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris. The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini. In the film, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) organizes a papal conclave to elect the next pope and finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about each candidate.
Ralph Fiennes gives one of the performances of the year as a cardinal besieged on all sides in Edward Berger and scriptwriter Peter Straughan’s elegant adaptation of Robert Harris’ 2016 taut and fascinating thriller set in the insular world of the Vatican.
There are some excellent ensemble performances in this gripping papacy thriller which lifts open the lid on the secrecy of the Conclave. The all-seeing Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini) has already received the Ensemble Performance Award from the Palm Springs International Film Awards and is tipped for others in awards season.
The good sister delivers uncomfortable blunt truths bomb to the assembled cardinals which change the course of the film’s narrative.
Sergio Castellitto, playing the hardline Catholic traditionalist Cardinal Tedesco at key moments of tension conveys his animosity and ambition with his use of his vape.
As Vatican mole, Monsignor O’Malley, Brian F O’Byrne cranks up the disquiet with long pauses before spilling yet more of the eminence’s unfortunate secrets. Stanley Tucci plays Bellini, the liberal; Sergio Castellitto is the belligerent, reactionary Tedesco, a racist bigot; John Lithgow is Tremblay, whose unemotional pacifying manner is deceptive; Lucian Msamati is the compelling Adeyemi; and Carlos Diehz is Benitez, an unknown figure who had been created Cardinal Archbishop of Kabul without anyone realising. But all of these men are upstaged by the late pontiff’s confidante Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini}.
.But for all the interesting cameos, the unforgettable performance in Conclave – and one the finest pieces of acting – is also one of the most restrained. Ralph Fiennes is superb as Cardinal Lawrence, dean of the college of cardinals, a position that places him second in Vatican seniority after the pope himself. After the sudden death of the pontiff, Lawrence finds himself saddled with the onerous responsibility of overseeing the conclave – the assembly of all the cardinals of the Catholic church to elect the new pope. The genius of Fiennes’s performance is that so little is shown on the surface. He internalises Lawrence’s disturbance his grief and great doubt as events unfold.
Conclave is skilfully directed with an eye for detail, truly capturing the intricate machinations behind one of the most meaningful appointments in human history: the papacy. What initially seems like a straightforward tale of electing a new pope quickly unravelled into a labyrinthine narrative filled with tension, intrigue, power struggles and moral dilemmas.
Every drop of tension and intrigue is extracted by cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine – highlighting the subtle animosity the rival factions fire at each other. Equally effective is the intense use of sound, which amplifies Cardinal Lawrence’s laboured breath and scuttling footsteps, and the forceful, emphatic score by Volker Bertelmann, reuniting with Edward Berger after their collaboration on All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Just when it seems the direction of the narrative is established , the film takes an unexpected, thrilling and satisfying turn which is not merely a twist for shock value – but also a poignant commentary on the nature of power and the compromises often made in its pursuit.
Images courtesy of : Focus Features